White-robed Minister

Chapter 151, page 0149: [Do you dare investigate the land holdings of the ancestral temple of the Zhao Song imperial family?]

May has passed in the blink of an eye, and the wheat harvest in Yucheng County is almost complete.

This year has been quite favorable, with no major disasters across the country. Perhaps the emperor's edict of self-reproach had an effect.

Xu Lai no longer personally went to the countryside; the officials he brought to investigate the fields gradually returned to the prefectural city.

Xu Lai himself remained here purely to maintain order for the county magistrate.

In his spare time, he would write work reports at the guesthouse: summarizing the Qingtian model of Yucheng County, submitting it to Gong Dingchen, and promoting it throughout the prefecture.

Yucheng County has the most prominent families, so if news from here gets out, the other six counties will not face much resistance in clearing out the fields.

If there is significant resistance in a particular county, Xu Lai wouldn't mind making another trip there.

"Sanlang, it's time to eat," Bu Chao called from outside the door.

Xu Lai put down his brush: "Bring it in."

Bu Chao carried the food into the house, but did not close the door immediately. Chen Xiaoyi was standing outside the door.

"Come in and talk to us too," Xu said.

Upon entering the house, Chen Xiaoyi immediately knelt down and pleaded, "Please, Judge Xu, take me in!"

Xu Lai remained noncommittal, instead asking, "Have all the properties under your name been settled?"

Chen Xiaoyi replied, "They've all been sold. My cousin bought ten mu; the rest were sold to neighbors in the village."

This government investigation into hidden land ownership was triggered by Chen Xiaoyi's case. He will inevitably be hated by all the major landowners in the county, and if he doesn't leave Yucheng County, he won't even know how he died.

The ten acres of land he sold to his uncle were more like a half-sale, half-gift. Because his uncle's family didn't have that much cash on hand, they could only buy it on credit for the time being.

A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy who has only studied carpentry for two years in addition to farming, where can he go after leaving his hometown?

"Stand up and speak," Xu said. "You can start by doing odd jobs at my residence."

Chen Xiaoyi beamed with joy: "Thank you so much for taking me in, Judge!"

Xu Lai said to Bu Chao, "Tell him about the rules of the house."

Bu Chao chuckled and pulled Chen Xiaoyi outside. He had always been Xu Lai's underling, and now he finally had his own underling.

The next day, Xu Lai set off back to the prefectural city.

There were few people seeing them off; the officials of Yucheng County were busy collecting taxes and clearing land.

Actually, everyone was hoping he would leave soon, otherwise it would be inconvenient for the officials to share the spoils if Xu Laohu stayed here.

Do you really expect all the major landowners in the county to honestly deposit all their evaded taxes into the treasury? Before the taxes are deposited, the officials will take a cut!

Moreover, the earlier the allocation plan was determined, the more actively officials would investigate the fields.

"Respectfully seeing off Judge A back to the capital!"

Wang Chunzhong bowed deeply to express his respect for Xu Lai.

Without Xu Lai's intervention, Wang Chunzhong would definitely have given up halfway through the task of investigating all the farmland in the county.

Of course, Xu Lai would not have been able to carry out his work without Wang Chunzhong's cooperation.

Both parties are very satisfied with this cooperation.

It was already afternoon when we returned to the prefectural city.

"Judge Xu is back!"

As soon as I stepped into the government office gate, a servant shouted loudly.

Officials from various government offices put down their work and rushed to greet him with great enthusiasm. These guys were also waiting for a bigger share of the money; they had already heard about the events in Yucheng County.

Who is this Xu Laohu?

It's clearly Xu Caishen!

Xu Lai exchanged pleasantries and went to the magistrate's office to find Zhuang Gongyue, and then went with Zhuang Gongyue to find Gong Dingchen.

Upon meeting, Gong Dingchen immediately asked, "How many hidden farmlands have been discovered in Yucheng County?"

"The land survey is not yet complete; the officials are finishing up," Xu said. "The total amount of hidden land reported by wealthy households of all sizes in the countryside is a whopping 46 mu."

Zhuang Gongyue said, "It's definitely not just that; there are people covering it up. In the past few days, I've been meticulously reviewing the land registers from previous years, going through all the records from the last few decades. There are at least 58 mu of hidden land in Yucheng County!"

Gong Dingchen said, "It's already quite good. It's very difficult to find out the whole story. It's not just a problem with the big landowners. Lower-class households also used to trade under white deeds to avoid taxes. Add to that the runaway households and the extinct families, and it's all a mess that's impossible to sort out."

That makes a lot of sense; it's not necessarily true that the big landowners concealed too much information.

Because small landowners and self-cultivating farmers would also look for various opportunities to hide their land holdings.

Xu Lai took out the summary report of the land clearing work and handed it to Gong Dingchen, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, order an investigation of the fields in the remaining six counties."

.

Gong Dingchen laughed and said, "I've been waiting for you. I plan to post notices in each county, saying that if a county fails to carry out the land clearing work effectively, I'll send you there in person."

"I also plan to visit various counties," Xu said.

Gong Dingchen said, "You've worked hard. I'm giving you three days off so you can rest at home."

Xu Lai bowed and took his leave.

Gong Dingchen said to Zhuang Gongyue, "The matter of clearing land in each county will be entrusted to Xizhong."

"We will certainly live up to our mission!" Zhuang Gongyue clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Although Zhuang Gongyue is still quite inexperienced, he has been stationed outside the capital for over a year and is growing rapidly; he is no longer the novice he was last year.

Driven by the desire for political achievements and to distribute the profits, officials from Zhuang Gongyue down to all levels of government quickly launched related initiatives throughout the prefecture.

Xu Lai then had some free time and continued to submit memorials to the court.

His previous memorial was like a stone thrown into the sea; the court didn't react at all.

Because the implications are so significant, if Xu Lai's suggestion to lower the threshold for drafting legal documents is followed, the number of lawsuits nationwide will inevitably surge, and the workload of officials will also increase dramatically.

Xu Lai also suggested that those who draft legal documents on behalf of others would not be held accountable for making false accusations. Could this become a weapon for the wealthy? Relying on their money, they could easily hire people to draft legal documents for false accusations, leaving ordinary people defenseless.

The prime ministers had much more to consider; how could they possibly agree to Xu Lai's memorial?

But Xu Lai still decided to write another letter.

After finishing his memorial, he had nothing to do, so he picked up the official gazette and slowly read through the newspapers that had been published for more than a month.

Just last month, Cai Kang, who was in charge of writing imperial edicts and overseeing the Imperial Academy and the National University, was also implicated in another part-time job (in charge of personnel selection).

He then submitted a memorial to the emperor.

At Cai Kang's suggestion, the imperial court abolished the power of recommending high-ranking civil and military officials in the capital.

Previously, high-ranking officials in the central government, both civil and military, could recommend two people each year for promotion to positions in the capital. From now on, they can't recommend any!

Because the problem of redundant officials is becoming more and more serious, even the number of officials in the capital has far exceeded the quota.

News of Xu Lai's investigation of farmland in Yucheng County had already spread to the other six counties.

The concerns of the large landowners in various counties have finally become a reality—Gong Dingchen ordered a comprehensive survey of land ownership in Yingtian Prefecture!

Lacking confidence, the six county magistrates promoted Xu Lai's deeds while inviting the large landowners to negotiate.

The gist is: Everyone, please decide for yourselves. It would be best if you could voluntarily declare your hidden land. I will follow the land clearing methods of Yucheng County; the earlier you declare, the better the benefits. However, my abilities are limited. If you truly resist, then I can only ask Judge Xu to personally…

Come and check.

The county magistrates said this openly, but privately they deliberately spread rumors that Judge Xu might come to their county next month.

For a time, Judge Xu seemed to be very busy.

Amidst all the chaotic rumors, he was determined to visit each county one by one.

"Bang!"

Zhuang Gongyue slammed his fist on the table, pointing at the magistrate of Songcheng and shouting, "Do you take me for an ignorant child? The total amount of hidden land declared by all the landlords in the county is only a little over 100,000 mu!"

As the magistrate of the county seat, this fellow was already used to it, and quickly explained, "This county is the seat of the prefecture, and many government offices and temples have been built over the years —"

Zhuang Gongyue interrupted, saying, "Those temples and monasteries need to be investigated even more thoroughly. They own countless temple fields, and who knows how many they have secretly hidden."

The magistrate of Songcheng hesitated to speak.

He felt there was no need to make any more trouble; the local landlords had already been frightened into voluntarily declaring over 100,000 mu of hidden land. He already had achievements to show for himself and a larger share of the profits, so why make things more complicated?

"You can't handle this, can you? I'll have Judge Xu investigate!" Zhuang Gongyue felt that the person in front of him was a complete waste.

The magistrate of Songcheng County also had a temper and retorted directly: "Then please have Judge Xu investigate. The place with the most hidden land in this county is undoubtedly Hongqing Palace."

Upon hearing the words "Hongqing Palace," Zhuang Gongyue's expression changed slightly.

This Taoist temple was originally the imperial temple of the Song Dynasty, built by Zhao Kuangyin to worship his father. It also houses portraits of three emperors: Taizu, Taizong, and Zhenzong.

Its nominal administrators were civil officials who had lost in political struggles.

The actual managers were eunuchs sent by the emperor.

Everyone knows that Hongqing Palace has the most hidden fields, but who the hell dares to actually investigate?

The magistrate of Songcheng County dared not.

Zhuang Gongyue dared not do the same.

After sending the magistrate of Songcheng away, Zhuang Gongyue felt increasingly helpless and embarrassed.

Are we just going to leave it at that?

Zhuang Gongyue found Gong Dingchen and briefly explained the situation: "Everyone knows that Hongqing Palace has a great many hidden fields—"

Gong Dingchen also felt this was a tricky situation: "Call Judge Xu over and ask him. If he dares to investigate, let him investigate. If he doesn't dare, then forget it."

During the Northern Song Dynasty, temples and Taoist monasteries were also required to pay taxes in summer and autumn. After the Xining Reforms, they were also subject to corvée labor.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou even levied a poll tax on monks and Taoist priests.

However, Hongqing Palace was granted tax exemption by the emperor, and at that time, the court had not yet stipulated an upper limit on the amount of land that temples and monasteries could own.

Xu Lai was summoned by the two men, and after understanding the situation, he immediately laughed and said, "What is there that we dare not investigate? I am investigating land ownership for the imperial court in accordance with the law. Would I be punished for this? If we don't investigate Hongqing Palace, which has the most hidden land, how can we expect the other landowners to be convinced?"

As long as Xu Lai takes down Hongqing Palace, the landlords in the various counties will surely be terrified and run away in a panic.

"You really dare to investigate?" Gong Dingchen asked again to confirm.

Xu Lai bowed and said, "Please allocate twenty garrison troops and thirty archers to me."

Zhuang Gongyue was dumbfounded. They actually wanted to bring the local militia and archers. That was the original temple of the Zhao Song imperial family!

After Xu Lai left, even Gong Dingchen was a little scared: Had he gone too far this time?

As Zhuang Gongyue watched Xu Lai's departing figure, he felt a surge of admiration for no apparent reason.

At first, he looked down on Xu Lai and disliked him, but after the case was changed, he felt that Xu Lai had no flaws except for being a bit reckless.

It wasn't until Xu Lai cleared the fields in Yucheng County that Zhuang Gongyue's opinion of him completely changed: a capable minister and an efficient official.

At this moment, upon hearing that Xu Lai dared to investigate Hongqing Palace, Zhuang Gongyue had only one thought in his mind: Xu Xingzhi is truly a hero of our time!